Lucius's face tensed. There was no mistaking it—he recognized former Captain Nolan's name.
"Who... are you? How do you know Thomas's name?" Lucius asked, his voice furious, his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
Nolan didn't budge.
"I won't tell you until you tell me, too. What did you talk about with Thomas?"
Silence hung over the narrow hallway. Their auras collided like two unyielding currents. Lucius finally spoke, his voice low and bitter.
"There's no such thing as senior brother and junior brother anymore." His jaw clenched. "I warned him that the Snake Goddess Organization was conspiring against the Kaffal region. But he still wouldn't believe it and died at the hands of the Daemon race." Meanwhile—" He let out a short, humorless laugh. "—his beloved junior brother escaped."
His fists clenched again, this time with rage.
"I don't care what your relationship is with Thomas. Get away from me, or I'll kill you."
Nolan stared at him emotionlessly, his eyes as cold as steel.
"If you can kill me."
Without waiting for a reaction, Nolan swung his sword. A crescent-shaped arc of black shadow shot out. Lucius met it with a mana-coated fist, and the attack shattered instantly, like fog in a storm.
Lucius retaliated without hesitation. Nolan leaped to the left seconds before the giant fist struck the wall, creating a large crater. Dust flew. This time, Nolan chose close combat.
The fist collided with the sword. Nolan used the floor for support, absorbing the full force of Lucius's impact. With the last of his mana, he spun around and counterattacked. His blade collided with Lucius's mana-coated arm, and dark shimmers sparked from the friction.
Lucius took a deep breath, a typical move before a major attack.
He drew back his left fist, then thrust it forward violently. A giant shadow fist shot from his fist, a destructive mid-range attack.
Nolan retaliated with dozens of crescent-shaped shadow slashes in succession. They all shattered before reaching their target.
"The mana energy sphere's effect has worn off. I can't withstand this attack."
Nolan stretched his right hand forward. A magic circle formed, creating a protective shield that emanated like a wall of silvery-black light. The shadow of the giant fist slammed into the shield.
Cracks appeared instantly, as if someone had stepped on thin glass repeatedly.
His shield shattered.
Without magical protection, Nolan had only time to raise his sword in a last-ditch effort before the shadow of the fist pushed him back hard. His feet dragged along the floor as his body traced a long trail before finally crashing into the wall.
An explosion of dust filled the hallway.
Pain shot through his bones as he sat up, his left arm fractured but still gripping the sword. The shadow of the fist vanished, but the force of the attack still reverberated throughout his body.
Lucius didn't give Nolan a chance to breathe. Even before the dust had completely cleared, he charged again, fist raised and mana aura swirling madly.
There was no time to recover.
Nolan knew that.
The giant fist was about to hit his head when, suddenly, a rectangular token shot out from the side. It radiated golden light and collided with Lucius's fist. The light broke the impact, forcing Lucius back for a split second—just enough time to disorient him.
At that moment, Nolan felt something grab his wrist from behind the wall. A blue magic circle appeared and spun rapidly, engulfing his body as if pulling him from the other side of space.
"Teleportation?!"
Nolan's vision blurred for a moment, then the light went out. When he came to, Lucius was far behind him. All that remained was the sharp sense that the man must have noticed his escape.
***
Nolan stumbled to the floor, but Lucas caught him just in time. They were now in a modest inn, two blocks from the Fighter's Club and still in the Ironworkers District.
"Prince Nolan, you're truly reckless," Lucas said angrily as he helped Nolan into a metal chair. "Your mana energy sphere has worn off. You should have left instead of challenging that terrible man."
Nolan simply sighed softly.
Lucas took a long, glowing, violet-blue tube and placed it on the table. As the light from the tube enveloped Nolan, warmth flowed through his skin, muscles, and bones. The blue crystal ball inside the tube vibrated gently—the healing process was working quickly.
Nolan could feel his fractured left arm bones healing together. Mana energy slowly filled his body like water filling a nearly collapsed vessel.
The tension in his chest began to ease, but not enough to erase what was on his mind.
"Lucius and Captain Thomas..." Nolan muttered, frowning. "They clearly had a close relationship—senior and junior. But Lucius hated Caelthorn so much. Was Caelthorn's death related to the Snake Goddess Organization?"
The memory Nolan had seen, what remained of Caelthorn, further explained it.
"If Lucius and Thomas were close, then why was Caelthorn following them?" Lucius knew Caelthorn somehow. But why was Caelthorn following Lucius?"
Lucas sat down beside him. "Prince Nolan, you seem to be thinking about something."
Nolan paused for a moment before answering, choosing his words carefully.
"I was just thinking...Lucius knew more than just Captain Thomas. He knew me, too. But I don't remember anything."
His answer was honest yet half-truthful.
In reality, Caelthorn's original memories had been fading ever since Nolan took over this body. The remaining fragments were dissolving daily. Fortunately, Caelthorn had stored many of his memories in the Hexagonal Chain, but not all of them.
Lucas crossed his arms over his chest, his face filled with confusion.
"Lucius's name isn't on the list of any major guild. He's also not affiliated with any organization under the Aurora Association's supervision. Prince, there are many independent sentinels, but there are still records. They're all monitored."
Nolan sharpened his gaze. "So you're saying he's a Dark Sentinel?"
Lucas shook his head slowly. "Yes and no. More precisely, he's a freelance Sentinel, not affiliated with anything. They work for whoever pays the most, whatever the job."
That explanation wasn't good news.
Nolan's first mission to investigate Lucius Farley had ended in failure. Painfully, it wasn't just failure; he was completely beneath the man's level.
Without the mana energy sphere that temporarily boosted his power, Nolan never would have lasted that long. For a few hours in the arena, he stood nearly on par with the Sentinel Saint. Then, as the effect wore off, his power dropped again.
"The power difference is too great," he muttered under his breath.
After spending a few days in the Earth Realm in Caelthorn's body, Nolan could feel his body and mind slowly adjusting. This world was foreign, strange, and dangerous, yet he quickly adapted.
In the fantasy novels he'd read on Earth, characters who transitioned realms usually experienced shock or panic and cried for days.
Nolan hadn't experienced that.
Perhaps it was because he knew one thing for certain:
The soul of this body's owner has died completely. There's no way back to Earth. All that remains are fragments of Caelthorn's memories, and they're slowly fading away."
Nolan understood that he would ultimately be the only one left in this body.
Lucas broke his reverie.
"It's a shame that you disappeared during the final match, Prince. The Rune Calamity Prize went to the Dark Organization."
The frustration in his voice was clear.
Nolan let out a long sigh. Once his mana energy was fully restored, he moved the extinguished blue crystal ball to the side of the table.
"That artifact is indeed being fought over by major guilds and organizations. But my goal from the beginning was simply to investigate Lucius. Not to seize the Rune Calamity." Nolan stood up and put his robes back on. "We're returning to the Blue Lagoon Palace."
Lucas quickly got ready without further protest.
The ride home was quieter than usual. The lights of the Ironworkers District cast a dull glow on the streets while monotonous sounds of operating factories echoed in the distance.
But Nolan's mind was far noisier than the world around him.
This world wasn't as simple as it seemed:
Power, Sentinel politics, secret organizations, the invasion and territorial struggles of the Daemon race, Caelthorn's death, and the Demon Emperor Hades killing Caelthorn were all intertwined, as was Thomas's relationship.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized. Earth was simpler than the Earth Realm.
Or maybe these worlds were indeed equal—he just hadn't understood it yet.
If Caelthorn died from something Nolan didn't know about, and if the trigger was related to the Demon Emperor Hades, then Nolan might be next.
One's fate is not determined solely by strategy, politics, or territorial struggles. In this world, the cunning, intelligent, and strong will thrive, while the weak will be eliminated. The Earth Realm inherits the same law—not just the conflict between the Sentinels and the Daemons, but also the struggle for territory, power, and the right to stand on this land. The weak will only be trampled, discarded, or exploited.
Nolan understands this all too well.